The present invention relates to an electrical connector a wire is pressed for contacting thereto.
A conventional electrical connector (a connector) is disclosed in Patent Reference. In Patent Reference, the connector includes a terminal made from a metal plate. The terminal includes a pressing groove portion (a slit) extending in a vertical direction or an insertion direction of a wire and an opening in an upper direction. The wire is inserted into the pressing groove portion in the insertion direction and comes into contact with two contact point portions. The contact point portion extends in the vertical direction and is formed as edge portions facing each other of the pressing groove portion. The contact point portion bites an outer jacket of the wire thus inserted, thereby contacting the wire. A hole portion is opened in the terminal along the contact point portion, in a range corresponding to the contact point portion in the vertical direction. The contact point portion is a beam portion formed with an edge portion and situated between the pressing groove portion and the hole portion. The beam portion has a fixed-fixed beam shape.
Patent Reference: Japanese Patent Publication No. 09-232010
In the conventional connector described above, when the wire is inserted into the pressing groove portion from the upper direction, the wire is pressed by the contact point portion where the contact point portion is situated in the vertical direction. Therefore, the beam portion deforms elastically outward against the pressing groove portion.
In the conventional connector in Patent Reference, a base portion in the both ends of the beam portion is fixed. Accordingly, the beam portion receives stress at the both ends or the base portions thereof upon deforming elastically. As a result, in the connector, it is possible to reduce the stress the terminal receives at one point since the beam portion receives the stress with two points, as opposed to a case the beam portion has a cantilever shape which receives the whole stress at one point. On the other hand, the beam portion does not deform easily since the beam portion is formed as the fixed-fixed beam. Therefore, the wire is not inserted into the pressing groove portion easily.
In addition, elasticity of the beam portion is unchanged regardless of a thickness of the wire or a position the wire is pressed. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a preferred contact condition corresponding to a variety of kinds of the wires. As a result, the contact point portion and the wire can fail to obtain the preferred contact condition in some cases.
In view of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector which enables a terminal thereof to maintain a good contacting state with a wire by avoiding the terminal receiving the excessive stress. In addition, the electrical connector is able to provide a preferred contact condition corresponding to the variety of the kinds of the wires. Furthermore, the electrical connector enables the wire to be inserted into the pressing groove portion easily.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.